HIST 1302 Part Two

23 From Roosevelt to Wilson in the

Age of Progressivism

Theodore Roosevelt

The Man and the President

Roosevelt ran for Vice-President in the 1900 election.

Roosevelt became President when McKinley was mortally wounded by

anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New

York, Sept. 6, 1901. McKinley died Sept. 14.

At age 42, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest ever U.S. president.

Roosevelt enjoyed “the strenuous life.”

TR also had a brainy side. He

wrote 46 books and countless

magazine articles.

1906: The “Teddy Bear” is named for Theodore Roosevelt.

A 1903 family portrait; from left to right: Quentin, TR, Theodore Jr., Archie, Alice,

Kermit, Edith (TR’s second wife), and Ethel.

“TR” remodeled the Executive Mansion and

then officially renamed it the “White House.”

TR’s Presidency

1901-1909

Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency

• Invited Booker T. Washington to Dinner

• Filed 43 Anti-trust suits against big business combinations, starting

with J. P. Morgan’s Northern Securities

• Successfully ended the 1902 Coal Strike

• Indirectly aided Panamanian rebels in order to make a treaty with

Republic of Panama to build the Panama Canal

• Mediated an end to the Russo-Japanese War and won the Nobel Peace

Prize

• Advocated the “Roosevelt Corollary” as means by which to make the

Monroe Doctrine effective (and used it in the Dominican Republic)\

• Protected millions of acres of public land through executive action,

including the Grand Canyon

• Advocated government regulation of business, Workmen’s

Compensation and an Inheritance Tax

• Promoted the “Square Deal”

Oct. 16, 1901: TR invites Booker T.

Washington to dinner.

5 min. 42 sec.

Many Progressives wanted to “bust” the Trusts, large business combinations

that controlled various areas of the economy and drove up prices.

TR quickly got a reputation

as a “trust-buster.”

1902: TR files anti-trust suit

against J.P. Morgan’s

Northern Securities.

A federal court ordered

Northern Securities

broken up.

TR filed lawsuits against 43 other “trusts.”

3 min. 36 sec.

In May 1902, coal miners went on strike, demanding

recognition of their union, an eight-hour day, and a 15%

pay increase. The mine owners refused to negotiate.

As winter approached, the nation worried

about the dwindling coal reserves.

“A coal famine

in the winter is

an ugly thing and

I fear we shall

see terrible

suffering and

grave disaster” --President Theodore Roosevelt

TR invited the coal mine operators and a union representative to the

White House, to discuss a solution. The mine owners wouldn’t budge.

"These men don't suffer. Why, hell, half of

them don't even speak English.” --A mine owner

After TR threatened to nationalize the

mines, the striking miners, got a 10

percent wage increase and a 9-hour day

(down from 12). 6 min. 00 sec.

1903: TR encourages a Panamanian revolt.

After gaining independence from

Colombia, Panama accepts $10 million

from the U.S. for the right to build a canal.

Work commenced in 1905

and in 1907 TR visited the

Canal Zone. The canal was

completed in 1914. It cost

$375 million.

5 min. 57 sec.

Promising Americans a “Square Deal,” TR

runs for president against Democrat Alton

Parker and Socialist Eugene Debs in 1904.

March 4, 1905: TR is inaugurated.

1905: Alice Roosevelt’s goodwill tour of Japan

(accompanied by Secretary of War William H. Taft).

While Alice distracted the press, Taft

made a secret deal, agreeing to let the

Japanese take over Korea in return for

a pledge to leave the Philippines alone.

In 1905 TR mediated the Russo-Japanese treaty at Portsmouth, NH.

1906: TR wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

2 min. 41 sec.

The “Roosevelt Corollary” (1904)

“…in the Western

Hemisphere, adherence of the

United States to the Monroe

Doctrine may force the

United States, however

reluctantly, in flagrant cases

of…wrongdoing or

impotence, to the exercise of

an international police

power.” --Theodore Roosevelt, Dec. 1904

TR exercised the “Corollary” in 1905, in

the case of Santo Domingo (the

Dominican Republic), which had defaulted

on loans to European countries.

TR’s motto was

“Speak softly and

carry a big stick.”

TR’s greatest legacy was in the field of Conservation.

During his presidency, TR put 230 million acres of public land under

federal protection; creating 5 national parks, 18 national monuments,

150 national forests, and 51 national wildlife refuges.

“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of

Representatives of the United States of

America in Congress assembled, …That the

President of the United States is hereby

authorized, in his discretion, to declare by

public proclamation historic landmarks, historic

and prehistoric structures, and other objects of

historic or scientific interest that are situated

upon the lands owned or controlled by the

Government of the United States to be national

monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof

parcels of land…”

The 1906 Antiquities Act

TR also helped save the bison from extinction.

1903: TR visits the Grand Canyon.

1908: TR issues an executive order declaring

the Grand Canyon a national monument.

7 min. 27 sec.

In 1906 TR supported

both the Meat Inspection

Act and the Pure Food

and Drug Act of 1906,

which sought to put an

end to ineffective and

oftentimes harmful

“patent medicines.”

In 1906 TR dishonorably discharged 167 black soldiers

(including 6 medal of honor winners) stationed at Fort Brown,

Texas for an alleged riot. There was no court martial.

1 min. 40 sec.

1907-1908: TR co-opts the Democrats and confounds his own party.

“The last session of Congress…saw a series of contests between the

[Republican] majorities in both houses of Congress and the President—

Myself—quite as bitter as if they and I belonged to opposite parties.” --Theodore Roosevelt, Autobiography

TR advocated regulation of big business and

an inheritance (death) tax on the wealthy.

The conservatives in his party opposed him.

“Our purpose should be…to regulate big

corporations…so as to help legitimate

business as an incident to thoroughly and

completely safeguarding the interest of the

people as a whole...including producers,

consumers, and wage-workers.”

“Against all such increase of Government

regulation the argument is raised [by

Conservatives] that it would amount to a

form of Socialism.”

--Theodore Roosevelt, Autobiography

1907: TR sends “The Great White Fleet” around the world.

1 min. 17 sec.

In 1909 TR greeted the

Great White Fleet when it

came home.

TR vs. Taft

TR’s handpicked successor

was Secretary of War

William Howard Taft, who

took office in 1909.

After Taft took office in

March 1909, TR went big-

game hunting in Africa.

“America expects every lion to

do his duty.”

--J. P. Morgan

TR shot all sorts of animals, including the symbol of the Republican party.

Taft disappointed Roosevelt by

siding with the Conservative wing

of the Republican Party.

Secretary of the Interior, R. R. Ballinger (a

Taft man) fired Chief Forester Gifford

Pinchot (a Roosevelt man).

Pinchot

1909-1910: The Ballinger-

Pinchot Affair

TR arrived back

in the United

States, at New

York, in 1910, to

great acclaim. It

was as if he was

still president.

In 1910, at Osawatomie, Kansas, TR

revealed the components of what he called

the “New Nationalism.”

“In every wise struggle for human

betterment, one of the main objects, and

often the only object, has been to achieve

in large measure equality of opportunity.”

“I stand for the square deal…I mean not

merely that I stand for fair play under the

present rules of the game, but that I stand

for having those rules changed.”

TR decided to challenge

Taft for the Republican

nomination in 1912.

Although TR won all the Republican primaries, the party bosses chose

President Taft as the Republican candidate for 1912.

TR was supported by many leading

Socialists, including Jane Addams,

who gave a speech at the convention.

“I second the nomination of Theodore

Roosevelt because he is one of the few men

in our public life who has been responsive

to the social appeal and who has caught

the significance of the modern movement.” --Jane Addams, Progressive Party Convention, 1912

Aug. 1912: TR becomes the nominee of

the new Progressive Party.

The Progressive Party was also

called the “Bull Moose” Party.

The Democrats nominated NJ Governor Woodrow Wilson.

TR wanted to regulate the trusts. Wilson wanted to “bust” the trusts.

The Choice Between Two Progressives

The “New Nationalism” The “New Freedom”

Oct. 14, 1912: Assassination attempt

on TR in Milwaukee.

The first and only time a third

party has come in second place!

12 min. 02 sec.